Elizabeth Warren Says Crypto Regulation Must Advance, but She Can’t Back Current CLARITY Act

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said crypto legislation is necessary but that she opposes the current version of the CLARITY Act before the Senate.

The Block reported on September 15 that Warren told reporters the CLARITY Act was Washington’s “first opportunity for meaningful crypto regulation.” Still, she said the bill does not go far enough in restricting public officials’ crypto investments or in addressing national security, consumer protection, illicit finance and terrorist funding.

Ethics rules surrounding President Donald Trump’s crypto interests have emerged as a key sticking point. The current bill would require public officials with a “substantial financial interest” in crypto companies and related businesses to divest those holdings or place them in a blind trust. Warren and other Democrats argue that meaningful enforcement against a president would be difficult.

In a counterproposal presented to Republicans on September 15, Democrats proposed expanding the ethics rules to cover Trump’s children. They also called for requiring public officials with very large stakes in crypto companies to sell those assets. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the Republican lawmaker leading the CLARITY Act, rejected the proposal.

Warren also said she would be willing to lead crypto legislation herself if she becomes chair of the Senate Banking Committee. She said Democrats, Republicans and the industry could work together on meaningful crypto legislation and build a regulatory framework that protects national security and the economy while addressing corruption.